GAME PREVIEW

(7:00 p.m. ET, TV: FSN NY | Radio: Bloomberg 1130) The Islanders look for their first four-game winning streak of the year as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight at the Mellon Arena.

They will have to do it without their captain and leading scorer, Alexei Yashin, who will be out 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee after colliding with Washington's Matt Pettinger on Saturday in the third period.

"Strange things happen for strange reasons," said head coach Ted Nolan. "It's obviously a big blow to our team, but it...s an opportunity for others to step in. Viktor Kozlov will step in and play center in Yash's place. This is a great opportunity for Viktor."

Eric Boguniecki was recalled from Bridgeport and is expected to play on a line with Shawn Bates and Richard Park, moving Arron Asham into Kozlov's former spot with Mike Sillinger and Andy Hilbert. The unit of Trent Hunter, Mike York and Miroslav Satan will stay intact.

The Islanders have been playing some of their best hockey of the year. They won three games in four nights over the Holiday weekend, knocking off Carolina, Pittsburgh and Washington, while allowing only four goals in three games.

The Islanders are currently ranked first in goals against average (2.50) in the Eastern Conference and are tied for the best save percentage (92.2) in the NHL with the Calgary Flames.

"Team defense has been the key recently," said defenseman Sean Hill. "When we're not playing as good defensively, Ricky's been standing on his head. When you have your goaltender playing as well as he is and you have the forwards coming back to help, it makes our job easier."

The Penguins have been suffering since they lost their leader, Sidney Crosby, to a groin injury. In his absence, the Penguins have gone 0-1-2, most recently dropping a heartbreaker to the Rangers at home in the final three seconds of overtime. Crosby is expected to return to tonight.

Chris King and Steve Mears have the call on Bloomberg Radio 1130, while Howie Rose and Billy Jaffe can be seen tonight on FSN NY.

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